Bruins wake up late, win in third period again

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DJ Bean
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January 31, 2012 @ 9:32 pm
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The Bruins returned from the All-Star break two periods late Tuesday night, but by the time they awoke, they were back to their old ways and defeated the Senators, 4-3, with a dominant third period.

The B’s came back from a 3-2 deficit in the third period, with Dennis Seidenberg[1] scoring the unlikely game-winner with a slapshot from center ice that beat Senators goaltender Craig Anderson. The win improved the B’s to 6-8-1 when trailing after the second period.

The Bruins took the lead in the first period on a power play goal fromZdeno Chara[2]. Colin Greening tied the game late in the first thanks to a nice pass from Milan Michalek. The Senators then dominated the B’s in the second period, getting goals from Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson before Milan Lucic[3] brought Boston within one with 45 seconds left to play in the period.

In a fashion that’s been somewhat typical this season, the Bruins won the game in the third period. Brad Marchand[4]‘s hard work in front paid off in the form of the game-tying goal. Seidenberg gave them lead less than five minutes later.

Tim Thomas[5] got the start in net for the Bruins, manning the pipes in Boston for the first time since blowing off last Monday’s trip to the White House. The reigning Vezina and Conn Smythe winner was given a loud ovation from the fans on hand at TD Garden.

The Bruins will return to action Thursday when they host the Hurricanes at TD Garden.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

– Chara’s first-period power-play goal was the captain’s first tally in 17 games, as his last goal came way back on Dec. 17 in the Bruins’ 6-0 win over the Flyers. The goal featured some nice work in front screening by Milan Lucic, who on Monday said that the hardest shot contest serves as an annual reminder that he’s pretty crazy to stand in front of that shot each time the B’s go on the power play.

– Great persistence from the Little Ball of Nicknames on Marchand’s goal to tie the game in the third period. After Joe Corvo put the puck on net from the point, Marchand out battled Chris Phillips in front of the net with Anderson sprawled out and tied the game with his 18th goal of the season.

– Good to see Corvo with a two-point night for the Bruins. If there were to be one spot the B’s might need to upgrade it would be Corvo’s after his disappointing showing thus far with the B’s, but his second half got off to a much better start.

– Seidenberg has a knack for scoring goals from center ice. The German defenseman also picked up a goal from the red line last season when he faked a dump-in on Lightning goaltender Mike Smith and put the puck on net.

Tuesday’s goal was a case of horrifically weak stuff from Anderson, as unlike Smith, Anderson hadn’t left his net and saw the puck as it went past him and in.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

– In allowing three goals, the Bruins extended their season-long streak of games with three or more goals allowed to four games. Prior to the last four games, the Bruins’ longest such stretch was two games.

The team has sloppy play to credit to the development, and the fact that Thomas wasn’t at his best Tuesday didn’t help.

– The B’s took the second period off, though they were fortunate to get a goal in the final minute from Lucic. Ottawa outshot the B’s, 13-5, in the second period, and the Bruins went a long stretch without hitting the net after Steven Kampfer’s shot from the point about four minutes in. Teams talk about wanting to put together 60-minute efforts, and the Bruins failed to do that Tuesday.

– It was Tyler Seguin[6]‘s birthday, but he and hits line played like they had a birthday party to get to. Seguin,Patrice Bergeron[7] and Marchand seemed out of sync as a unit, as Seguin’s pass to Marchand on a second-period 2-on-1 was well ahead of his line-mate. Marchand made up for his line’s uncharacteristic play with his game-tying goal.